An introduction of sorts
I have never kept a diary/journal before, and I don't particularly like to write, especially when it comes to personal matters, so this is a first. I basically joined livejournal to gain access to various fansubbed videos related to my new found obsession with the Japanese boy band, KAT-TUN. However since I have an account now, I might as well try to use it, though it won't really be interesting to anyone but me. I'll mostly just rant on about the things that interest me.
I'll start off by mentioning my music interests. I mainly like acoustic, singer/songwriter types with my absolute favorite being Jason Mraz. Everyone that knows me knows how crazy I am about him and his music. I found out about him through his hit song circa 2003/2004, "The Remedy". I actually didn't like the song very much at the beginning but after hearing it so many times on the radio, the song really grew on me. I then downloaded his debut album, Waiting for my Rocket to Come, which also took quite a few listens for me to warm up to. After looking up more info about him, I learned that he had a whole catalog of older songs, much of which was unreleased and played primarily at earlier shows before he became famous. I just fell in love with these songs, which really brought out his gorgeous voice and amazing songwriting ability. I saw him live for the first time in May 2004 during his acoustic Curbside Prophet tour and the rest is history. Words cannot describe how amazing he is live. You really just have to go and experience it yourself. I have seen him live 14 times thus far so trust me that you won't be disappointed. I have also brought non-fans with me to Mraz concerts before and every single time they admitted to being very impressed by him. The studio albums, which are great in their own right, really don't do the man enough justice.
Here is just a sample of his awesomeness. Live performance of "Song for a Dancer".
Through Jason (well not directly through him, but through his forum and other fans), I learned about my favorite band Keane. I don't have such a long story about them. I first heard about them from Jason Mraz's official forum and first heard their music when they performed "Somewhere Only We Know" on "Saturday Night Live". I quite liked the song so I bought the album, Hopes and Fears, from which the song is from. I fell in love with the album from the very first listen all the way through. The lyrics to Keane songs are beautiful and Tom has a lovely voice. Keane is also very good live though not quite as amazing as Jason Mraz. Their sound live is almost exactly the same as what you hear on the cds and the in-between songs banter is very generic (Basically the typical "Make some noise" chatter). However, the songs are great and Tom's voice is heavenly so of course they're still worth going to see. Their latest full length studio album, Perfect Symmetry, has some great tracks like the title track and "Lovers are Losing" but they experimented with new sounds a bit too much on certain songs. All in all the album is a bit of a letdown from their 2nd studio album, Under the Iron Sea, which to date I think is their best album.
Live performance of "My Shadow".
Lastly I'll discuss my new obsession with KAT-TUN. They're quite different from my usual musical tastes and I never would have thought that I would like a boy/idol band. I was first introduced to Johnny's bands from watching some dramas (Gokusen, Hana Yori Dango) starring Matsumoto Jun but I had zero interest in Johnnies as I thought Arashi songs were very "bubblegum pop" like (Although I did like V6's Feel Your Breeze, which I thought was a corny yet fun song). That was the extent of what I knew about JE bands until quite recently. After watching Gokusen the Movie, I searched around YouTube for other videos that might be related to it and stumbled upon the variety show gem, Cartoon KAT-TUN. I thought KAT-TUN were so cute and funny on the show I just fell in love with them. Needless to say I went on a downloading spree after that. Although I wasn't a huge fan of their music in the beginning, I have to admit that their songs are very catchy and have since really grown on me. I'm in the process of trying to collect their albums but I have to say that 3000 yen for a cd is ridiculous and I can't believe people are willing to pay this amount (Why can't they cost between $10-15 like most cds that are released in the US).
Let me just promote Nakamaru a bit since he's my favorite in the group, just absolutely adorable/lovable, and simply awesome in so many ways.
My only complaint about him is I wish he showed more facial expression when he sings. Maru, you have a wonderful smile. Why don't you show it more?
That's enough ranting in my first post.
I'll start off by mentioning my music interests. I mainly like acoustic, singer/songwriter types with my absolute favorite being Jason Mraz. Everyone that knows me knows how crazy I am about him and his music. I found out about him through his hit song circa 2003/2004, "The Remedy". I actually didn't like the song very much at the beginning but after hearing it so many times on the radio, the song really grew on me. I then downloaded his debut album, Waiting for my Rocket to Come, which also took quite a few listens for me to warm up to. After looking up more info about him, I learned that he had a whole catalog of older songs, much of which was unreleased and played primarily at earlier shows before he became famous. I just fell in love with these songs, which really brought out his gorgeous voice and amazing songwriting ability. I saw him live for the first time in May 2004 during his acoustic Curbside Prophet tour and the rest is history. Words cannot describe how amazing he is live. You really just have to go and experience it yourself. I have seen him live 14 times thus far so trust me that you won't be disappointed. I have also brought non-fans with me to Mraz concerts before and every single time they admitted to being very impressed by him. The studio albums, which are great in their own right, really don't do the man enough justice.
Here is just a sample of his awesomeness. Live performance of "Song for a Dancer".
Click to viewThrough Jason (well not directly through him, but through his forum and other fans), I learned about my favorite band Keane. I don't have such a long story about them. I first heard about them from Jason Mraz's official forum and first heard their music when they performed "Somewhere Only We Know" on "Saturday Night Live". I quite liked the song so I bought the album, Hopes and Fears, from which the song is from. I fell in love with the album from the very first listen all the way through. The lyrics to Keane songs are beautiful and Tom has a lovely voice. Keane is also very good live though not quite as amazing as Jason Mraz. Their sound live is almost exactly the same as what you hear on the cds and the in-between songs banter is very generic (Basically the typical "Make some noise" chatter). However, the songs are great and Tom's voice is heavenly so of course they're still worth going to see. Their latest full length studio album, Perfect Symmetry, has some great tracks like the title track and "Lovers are Losing" but they experimented with new sounds a bit too much on certain songs. All in all the album is a bit of a letdown from their 2nd studio album, Under the Iron Sea, which to date I think is their best album.
Live performance of "My Shadow".
Lastly I'll discuss my new obsession with KAT-TUN. They're quite different from my usual musical tastes and I never would have thought that I would like a boy/idol band. I was first introduced to Johnny's bands from watching some dramas (Gokusen, Hana Yori Dango) starring Matsumoto Jun but I had zero interest in Johnnies as I thought Arashi songs were very "bubblegum pop" like (Although I did like V6's Feel Your Breeze, which I thought was a corny yet fun song). That was the extent of what I knew about JE bands until quite recently. After watching Gokusen the Movie, I searched around YouTube for other videos that might be related to it and stumbled upon the variety show gem, Cartoon KAT-TUN. I thought KAT-TUN were so cute and funny on the show I just fell in love with them. Needless to say I went on a downloading spree after that. Although I wasn't a huge fan of their music in the beginning, I have to admit that their songs are very catchy and have since really grown on me. I'm in the process of trying to collect their albums but I have to say that 3000 yen for a cd is ridiculous and I can't believe people are willing to pay this amount (Why can't they cost between $10-15 like most cds that are released in the US).
Let me just promote Nakamaru a bit since he's my favorite in the group, just absolutely adorable/lovable, and simply awesome in so many ways.
My only complaint about him is I wish he showed more facial expression when he sings. Maru, you have a wonderful smile. Why don't you show it more?
That's enough ranting in my first post.